Garut Deputy Regent Says He Needs IDR 2 Billion Repair One Bridge Damaged By Floods, Kang Helmi Residents Wait

A number of officers inspected the condition of the bridge that was damaged by the flash flood in Sukasuka Village, Banyuresmi District, Garut Regency, West Java. (ANTARA/HO-Diskominfo Garut)

GARUT - Deputy Regent of Garut Helmi Budiman stated that it would take up to IDR 2 billion to repair a bridge damaged by floods in Garut Regency, West Java.

"One bridge (the budget) is IDR 2 billion, if there are four it's already IDR 8 billion, not to mention for example a suspension bridge, say a suspension bridge of IDR 500 (million)," Garut Deputy Regent Helmi Budiman said as quoted by ANTARA, Monday, July 25.

He said the heavy rains that flushed the Garut area had caused the river to overflow until it flooded, Friday (15/7), as a result, residents' houses were submerged and bridges were damaged.

As many as 43 bridges, Helmi said, were reported to be in damaged condition, and some were also carried away by the flood currents, as a result, residents' activities were disrupted and needed repairs by constructing temporary bridges.

He said bridges were damaged not only in urban areas, but also in remote areas south of Garut, namely Banjarwangi District, there were 17 bridges, seven bridges were broken, and the rest were damaged and threatened to break.

"This needs immediate repairs, otherwise it is feared that the remaining 10 could also collapse," he said.

The Deputy Regent of Garut conveyed that damage to public facilities such as bridges and roads and others had been reported to the Governor of West Java, and the Head of the National Disaster Management Agency who was ready to pay attention to help repairs.

Garut regency government, he said, had made efforts to cope with flood-affected areas during the declaration of a 14-day disaster emergency by providing assistance, cleaning the environment, and recording material losses.

The Deputy Regent of Garut said that based on the results of the interim reports from officers in the field, the level of losses from the flash flood was estimated to be more than Rp. 17 billion.

Officers in the field, he added, are still calculating the value of the loss, because there is also other damage caused by the disaster, such as roads, land owned by residents, including livestock that were swept away by the flood currents.

"It's like someone is hit by a flood and it is estimated that it will go extinct, plus the missing fish, then livestock, this is indeed quite a big loss," he said.

Meanwhile, the Head of Sukasuka Village, Banyuresmi Sub-district, Iwan Ridwan said that in his area there was one bridge that was damaged due to the flash flood.

The bridge, he said, could be used by the people of Karangpawitan sub-district to go to school and various other activities which are closer to the Banyuresmi highway than other highways.

"Because now the condition is damaged, while residents who want to cross use help boats from the Police, TNI, BPBD, and from other agencies," he said.